Tottenham’s Son Heung Min opens up about facing racism in Germany
South Korean footballing sensation Son Heung-Min has opened up about the racism he faced in Germany. And how he got revenge on the Germans during the world cup 2018.
The Tottenham Hotspur star is an Asian sensation. Last year he became the first Asian to win a Premier League golden boot after scoring 23 goals.
Ever since his transfer to Hotspurs in 2015, Son has been a sensational form. Recently he became the leading goal-scoring Asian in the history of top-flight football in England. Following this, he was awarded the highest sporting honour in South Korea.
Son says he was racially abused in Germany
His journey to the top, however, has not been that easy after all.
In a recent interview in Seol, Son opened up about the difficulties he faced in his career. And racial abuse was one of them.
“I moved to Germany when I was young and went through so many difficult, unimaginable moments,” Son said, reports TOI. “I faced a lot of racism, and while going through a really difficult time, I had a lot of thoughts on my mind I should get my revenge one day.”
He played top flight German football for a total of 5 years. Before moving to England’s Tottenham.
Son represented clubs like Hamburger SV and Leverkusen for whom he scored a combined 41 goals in 135 appearances.
Revenge of racial abuse on German fans
The 29-year-old explained how he got his revenge on the entire nation in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Germany was the defending champions coming into the 2018 tournament. But they had a shocking outing in the tournament. And failed to qualify even to the knockout stages of the competition.
They faced South Korea in their final group stage, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat. Resulting in a bottom spot finish for the defending champions.
Son Heung Min was a part of the winning team against Germany. And scored the injury-time goal to seal Germany’s fate. Several German fans were in tears after this defeat at the Kazan Arena.
The Korean star is known for his sympathy towards fellow and opposition players. But watching the Germans cry didn’t make him feel bad. Rather he felt as if he had completed revenge on them by knocking their team out of the tournament.
Son has had a history of racial abuse, even in the English countryside. Last year, around eight people were arrested for tweeting racial abuse.
The Tottenham team is all set to begin their pre-season in South Korea. And Son will join the squad ahead of their clash against K-league All-Star in Seol on the 13th of July.
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